The present invention relates generally to a system for activating chickens raised in a conventional poultry house. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system for automatically urging chickens to move periodically from the outer periphery of a poultry house toward the aisles, where feed and watering apparatus are provided. The instant system also prevents injury and death to chickens in a poultry house due to overheating.
The modern poultry farmer must focus on producing a large number of marketable chickens in as short a time as possible to realize the maximum realistic profit from a poultry operation. From the time of delivery as chicks, chickens normally remain in the poultry house only six to eight weeks until they reach a marketable "fryer" size and weight, averaging four to five pounds. In order to maintain the rapid gain rate demanded in the industry, the chickens must be continually stimulated to eat and drink in order to achieve a desirable rate of weight gain.
It is important to keep birds moving within the chicken houses towards particular places. For example, many chickens tend to congregate near open aisles along the walls or in the center aisle of the chicken houses. Regular agitation in moving them into specific areas is important to increase their weight gain. The productive areas within a chicken house include the feed and water lanes near the center troughs within the building.
Additionally, for profitable operation, a typical poultry house must generally house between Fifteen Thousand and Twenty Thousand (15,000-20,000) chickens at one time. Because the chickens are continually and tightly crowded together, they are subject to a great risk of injury or death from overheating. Unless the chickens are periodically stimulated to move from their positions of rest, they may rapidly succumb to overheating. The problem is particularly acute in hot weather.
In the prior art known to us, various systems have been proposed for stimulating housed poultry to movement. Markum, U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,153 issued Sept. 11, 1979, teaches a carriage-driven sweeper adapted for use in a chicken pen or similar enclosure. The device comprises a circular overhead track suspended from the ceiling of the pen. A motor-driven carriage suspends an enlarged, flexible baffle. As the carriage travels slowly around the track, the baffle sweeps above the floor and drives the chicken from the center of the pen toward the outer periphery, where the chicken feed is scattered.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,194, issued to Boykin on Dec. 8, 1981 teaches the desirability of employing a moving human-simulative mannequin to agitate poultry to movement toward the feeding areas. The mannequin is suspended from a carriage movably mounted to an elongated oval track positioned over the center aisle of the chicken house. The mannequin simulates walking movement and shakes streamers for additional animal stimulation.
A related poultry stimulator device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,397, issued Feb. 2, 1982 to Markum. The device comprises a track suspended from the ceiling of the enclosure and a plurality of carriages movably mounted on the track. Movement of the carriages along the track is controlled by a docking member. Various devices extend downwardly between the carriages and the chicken house floor. The devices may comprise, for example, a human-simulative body, a hanging feed bucket, a forked prod, or a temperature-sensing probe.
However, neither the above-referenced poultry stimulating devices nor other prior art conveyor systems are well-adapted for use in a modern poultry house. A conventional poultry house is an elongated construction, usually several hundred feet in length, and typically comprises a plurality of adjacent aisles defined between rows of feeding apparatus and water lines. Chickens will attempt to roost virtually anywhere space may be found in the poultry house, including in the aisles, along the side walls, under the feeder structure, and on supporting beams.
For best results, it is desirable to provide relatively constant agitation throughout all open areas of the poultry house. None of the above-referenced track-driven prior art agitator systems provides for constant agitation of the majority of chickens in the house. For example, once the sweep of the above-referenced Markum '153 system has passed a particular area, chickens may immediately return to their roost and remain until the sweep cycles around to the same position again.
Because chickens are extremely excitable, sudden or greatly exaggerated movements are likely to cause the chickens to startle, huddle together in large piles, or even attack one another. On the other hand, it is our experience that chickens quickly become accustomed to continuous, predictable movement in the house, and such movements will eventually be ignored altogether. Moreover, a passing sweep by the prior art systems may not be effective to move the chicken from its place of roost. Thus, it is important that any movements effected by mechanical devices in a poultry house be moderate, properly timed, and carefully controlled to prevent injury to the chickens.